DOWNINGTOWN >> ”V-a-m-p-l-a-t-e.” With those eight letters in that precise order, Villa Maria Academy seventh-grader Jordi De Jong captured the championship title at the 2018 Chester County Spelling Bee. During the event, 48 students from 48 Chester County schools spelled their way through 418 increasingly difficult words. As the last student standing, Jordi has earned a trip for two to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this June. Additional congratulations go to second-place winner Srijan Velamuri from Lionville Middle School; third-place winners Anna Clement from Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, Tanvi Joshi from Fred S. Engle Middle School and Pavan Ulaganathan from East Ward Elementary School; and, to all 48 students who competed in the Chester County Spelling Bee.

Each student earned their position in the Chester County Bee by winning their individual school’s spelling bee, meaning each speller who took the stage was already a champion in their own right. Students prepared by studying Scripps-provided word lists and practicing at home. As this is Jordi’s third time spelling at the Chester County Bee, she has had a lot of practice. She will be eligible to return one more time next year to spell as an eighth grader.

The considerable spelling talent in the room was evident as students spelled their way through the provided word lists and moved on to additional words, many of which they had never seen or heard. After spelling straight through a grueling five hours of 22 rounds, Jordi beamed, “This feels amazing! I didn’t think that I would get first; it is incredible that I made it this far.” On top of diligent studying, Jordi attributes some of her success to reading. “I think I excelled when we went off of the list of practice words because I read a lot … it expands your vocabulary more than anything else.” She will continue studying in preparation for the national bee, but her focus isn’t solely on winning: “I really want to make everyone proud.”

As champion, Jordi also received the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award certificate, a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online. The second-place winner received a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, a $50 Amazon gift card and a Bananagrams game. Third place winners took home a Bananagrams game and a $25 Amazon.com gift card.